Return to Nature owner Carie Hallford is heading to trial next year after an El Paso County judge rejected her state plea agreement Monday, a similar ruling in recent months for her co-defendant, Jon Hallford.

Carie and Jon Hallford came under a multi-agency investigation in October 2023 after a investigation on their Penrose Return to Nature location resulted in the discovery of nearly 190 decomposing bodies. The pair faced both state and federal charges.

Jon Hallford was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison in July on wire fraud charges. During his state sentencing in August, Judge Eric Bentley heard objections from the victims to the stipulated sentence, which was initially set at 20 years behind bars to run concurrently with the federal sentence. Bentley rejected the agreement, setting Jon Hallford up for a 2026 trial after a second agreement was also rejected.

Victims spoke up again Monday, with more than a dozen taking the stand to address Bentley. Carie Hallford’s rejected plea agreement initially stipulated a 15- to 20-year sentence in the Department of Corrections to run concurrently, or at the same time, to her federal sentence.

“Everything that Jon Hallford did, Carie did too. From where I stand, Carie is just as guilty as her husband,” said Tanya Wilson, whose mother’s remains were found in Penrose.

“She was the one who handed my brother the fake ashes. She looked him in the eye and smiled while she lied, knowing full well her body was rotting in Penrose.”

Carie Hallford officially filed for divorce from Jon Hallford in August, court records show. According to the petition, the pair separated on April 14, 2024, which came shortly after a federal grand jury indicted the couple on wire fraud charges on April 10, 2024.

Heather DeWolf, who used Return to Nature for her son, Zach, in 2020, also pleaded with the judge to reject the deal. Her son was never found inside the funeral home, leaving DeWolf uncertain of what happened to her child.

“She gave me the sense my son would be cared for in a respectful way … I truly believed that I had made the right choice sending him there,” DeWolf said. “Every single one of us has been given a life sentence; we will relive this experience daily for the rest of our lives.”

All statements given to the court Monday indicated the victims were unhappy and frustrated with plea agreement cap of the 20-year sentence. Several victims expressed their wishes for more than 190 years in prison, or one year for each of the bodies found.

“I believe the only appropriate sentence is one that stacks the charges … like how Carie Hallford stacked our dead,” Crystina Page said.

Page used Return to Nature for her son, David, and his body was one of those identified from inside the home.

Bentley gave a brief statement ahead of ruling, during which he acknowledged not everyone would be happy with his decision. Before victims took the stand, both the prosecution and the defense asked the court to accept the agreement as it was.

“For all the reasons I rejected John Hallford’s plea agreement, I reject Carie Hallford’s,” Bentley said.

“Someone had to do the dirty work, but someone else had to sell the fraud to the public … she was not just an employee, she was a partner and a co-owner,” Bentley added.

One victim, Samantha Naranjo, opted not to object during Jon Hallford’s hearing earlier this summer, saying she just wanted to move forward.

“But after seeing that the judge was persuaded by family members to deny the plea, it did encourage me to stand up,” Naranjo said after the ruling. “As much as I don’t want to be spending the next year in a courtroom, I didn’t want to spend the last two years here either. I will be here until we get justice.”

Carie Hallford appeared in custody for Monday’s hearing. Her federal sentencing date is set for December. The prosecution previously indicated they would recommend a sentence of 15 years in federal prison.

Jon Hallford’s state jury trial is set to commence in February. Carie Hallford’s will start in October 2026. Both are anticipated to last multiple months.